Beyond the Skin Care Routine Winter Pampering Ideas

When the corn husks thicken and the woodpeckers start sharing the trees, you know it’s time to keep an eye out for the Snowy Owl. Like bears, many humans tend to hibernate in the winter, or at least spend more time indoors. The salads and sandwiches you would make because you couldn’t bear to turn on the oven or stove change to slow-cooked everything, gravy, pies, soups and stews.

That’s right about the time to transition from quick morning showers, to long hot soaks in the evening! Mmmmm, there’s nothing better than – especially on a cold winter night – a soothing soak in the tub to heat your body up and relax before bed with a belly full of comfort food.

Turn your bath into a sanctuary, and upgrade your evening routine, with easy ingredient switch ups. With just a few drops of Essential Oils, some added herbs from the kitchen or winter blooming flowers on indoor plants, an average bath becomes a fabulous spa treatment custom made to the needs of your body and mind.

I make my own seaweed bath concoctions, with Wild, Raw, Fresh, Salish Sea Seaweeds in the summer while the seaweed is in its peak cycle along the Vancouver Island coast. Collecting Bull Kelp, Alaria, and Iridaea, at low tide to put right into my bath within a day or two of collecting. Afterwards, I will dry them on the porch rail, later throwing them in my garden, as they make excellent natural fertilizers.

In the winter, the seaweed changes and pulls away from the surface making it more difficult to acquire, also undesirable as their fronds often die back in winter.

“IN MY EXPERIENCE, some of the best beauty tricks are the simplest. Take swimming in the ocean. I’ve found it to be an unparalleled skin supercharger, clearing-up red bumps, dry patches and other topical ailments like no other potion or lotion can. I can confidently say organic Sea Kelp baths work topical magic. They moisturized and evened my skin, and gave me an all over glow I thought was only possible after a trip to the beach.” – quote from Alexa Brazilian,Journalist of The Wall Street Journal

This winter, if you are like many others with no beach vacation in sight, you can still get the skin-saving effects of the ocean with a seaweed bath. The beauty boosts associated with the ancient practice of thalassotherapy is known to many spa owners and practitioners. If you are using a dehydrated seaweed, watch how they spring back to life as the hot water draws out a concentrated brew of vitamins and minerals, such as iodine, calcium, zinc, copper and vitamin C. Seaweeds are also rich in phytonutrients, chlorophyll and antioxidants. Seaweeds have more vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals than any land plant as well offering a potent dose of skin firming full chain amino acids.

Bathing has been found to exert a positive influence on your oxygen intake and lung capacity. This is because the combination of warm water and water pressure makes your heart beat faster, thereby increasing oxygen uptake. The steam from a hot bath will also help to clear your chest and sinuses. Adding a little eucalyptus or menthol can help clear out even the most congested of nasal passages, so if you are experiencing a winter cold or flu this can be a helpful home remedy for you.

Another amazing product I have used in my bath is the Sea Kelp Body Polish. It has hand-harvested organic red, brown, and green seaweeds mixed with large sea salt granules. My trick is to stand in the bath and scrub my body from the neck down, and then lay down in the hot water and relax with Seaweed Eye Chamois and a Facial Masque on. Within a few minutes, the seaweed fibers become very gelatinous and I smile knowing my skin is being pampered nicely. All body acne disappears, healthy cell turnover is encouraged, and my skin is left feeling smooth and toned.

“Much of what we attribute to the ocean’s healing powers—on inflamed skin, eczema, psoriasis, and even acne or open wounds—is due to the potent combination of salt and minerals that are released by seaweed,” said Julie K. Karen, a dermatologist practicing in Manhattan. “By bathing in seaweed and salt you are not quite matching but you are mimicking the benefits of seawater.”

As you dry off your relaxed body, and get into some cozy pajamas, it won’t go unnoticed just how silky smooth your skin feels. Only a hot beverage is left to complete your perfect recipe for a night of pampering on a cold winter night.

Twinkling lights, while the snowfalls outside, your heavy eyes feel even heavier in the elongated darkness of winter, and even the excitement of Santa coming wouldn’t be enough to keep you awake!